


You'll Never Know Until You Try

by Midnite521



Category: Bandom, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Getting Together, Implied Sexual Content, Kissing, Light Angst, Love Confessions, M/M, Making Out, Secret Crush, Shyness, joshler - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-07-14 14:49:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7176284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Midnite521/pseuds/Midnite521
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Josh has a crush on Tyler and doesn't want to tell him in fear of risking their friendship but gets some coaxing from Brendon beforehand</p>
            </blockquote>





	You'll Never Know Until You Try

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you like it! ~<3 (I stayed up all night writing this and I have no regrets whatsoever)

In hindsight, going to Brendon for relationship advice  _ might  _ not have been such a very good idea.

 

But then again, I didn’t really have anyone else who would understand better than he did. I contemplated on whether or not I should go to him after Ty and I’s show, and decided to just go through with it anyways.

 

I couldn’t exactly talk to Tyler because... well…

 

He’s the reason I was even going to Brendon in the first place. I mean, could you really walk up to your best friend of 5 years and tell him you’ve had a crush on him ever since you met him and that you’re possibly in love with him? Especially since he has a girlfriend, which doesn’t really help my case.

 

This is where I find myself at Brendon’s dressing room door, fist raised and about to knock. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath to calm my nerves. Then, opening my eyes, I sighed before knocking on the door 3 times. My hand fell to my side, and I held my breath- waiting as I shuffled my feet.

 

Constantly forgetting that he was  _ way  _ taller than me, I lifted my head to meet his confused gaze before it turned into a warm smile.

 

“Josh, hey!” He greeted. “What’s up?”

 

I bit my lip before rubbing the back of my neck slightly. “Could I er... talk to you? Alone? It’s kinda important.”

 

His expression twisted into one of confusion again as he spoke. “Uh, yeah. Come in.” He gestured for me to enter his dressing room, closing the door as I entered before going over to the couch and patting the space beside him.

 

“Everything okay Josh?” He asked. “You’ve never come to me with a problem before... Don’t you usually go to Tyler?” 

 

I swallowed nervously, letting out a nervous chuckle.

 

“I usually would... but this is concerning him, so... I couldn’t exactly go to him about it.”

 

“Oh?” He said curiously. “Is there something wrong with Tyler then?”

 

“No!” I said quickly before calming myself. “No, um... I just... well…”

 

“Use your words, Joshua.” Brendon teased lightly, a small smile on his face. I rolled my eyes before sighing quietly.

 

_ Okay, you can do this... It’s just Brendon after all _

 

“Okay, well…” I took a few more seconds to prepare myself before just deciding to just  _ say  _ it. “I may or may not have a crush on Tyler…”

 

_ There’s also the possibility of being in love with him… _

 

Brendon just looked at me. He seemed a little surprised at first, but then a smile appeared on his face again- which, in turn, made me confused.

 

“You have a crush on Tyler? For real?” I couldn’t get myself to form any words from slight embarrassment, so I just nodded in return, looking down at my lap.

 

“For how long?”

 

“.......Since I met him, five years ago…” This time Brendon had a look of pure shock on his face.

 

“ _ Five years _ ? You haven’t said anything to him about this this whole time?”

 

“Kinda hard to if he’s straight.” I muttered. 

 

“How do you know if he’s straight? Has he ever told you?”

 

“He doesn’t have to,” I said quietly, looking back up at him. “I mean, he has a  _ girlfriend  _ Brendon.”

 

“That doesn’t automatically make him straight. For all you know, he could be bisexual.”

 

“He’s never said anything about liking boys.” I obviously stated. Brendon just rolled his eyes.

 

“You’ve never  _ asked  _ him, Josh. How would you know if you never ask him? Best friends usually tell each other everything, don’t they?”

 

“I guess, but…”

 

“I mean, look at me. People assumed I was straight because I was married to a girl for 2 years. But I like boys too. You know how I proved that, right?” Before I could answer, he cut me off. “I kissed Dallon on stage, in front of everybody. A straight guy wouldn’t do that, right?”

 

I shook my head. “You’re with Dallon now…”

 

“Exactly! Because after I kissed him, I explained why I’d done it. He ended up telling me he liked me from the beginning but couldn’t get himself to tell me. Me kissing him on stage eventually led to us getting together in the end.”

 

“But I can’t do that with Tyler, Brendon.” I said, exasperated. “He has a girlfriend. I can’t let my stupid feelings get in the way of their relationship. They seem happy together…” I let my voice quiet down to a hushed tone. “I can’t ruin that for him... he’s the best friend I’ve ever had. I want him to be happy. And if that means being just friends, then... then that’s how it’ll have to be.”

 

I didn’t realize I was close to crying until Brendon spoke up again.

 

“But don’t you think he should know how his best friend feels about him? I’m sure he’d understand.”

 

“I don’t want to mess up what we already have, Bren... What if I tell him, and he rejects me and everything is just... _ awkward _ \- all the time afterwards? I don’t think I could handle that.” He rested a hand on my shoulder comfortingly, smiling slightly.

 

“You’ll never know until you try, Josh.”

  
  


~*~*~*~*~*~

  
  


Brendon’s words floated through my head as I laid in my bunk. I wasn’t exactly tired, but I couldn’t get myself to face Tyler at the moment.

 

_ “You’ll never know until you try, Josh.” _

 

I sighed, covering my face with my pillow. 

 

Of all people, why did I have to fall for my best friend?

 

I tossed and turned constantly, trying to just get myself to fall asleep- but froze when I heard footsteps. They seemed to pause in front of my bunk.

 

“Josh?” I heard a voice call out quietly. “Are you awake?”

 

_ Tyler _

 

I stayed completely still, glad I was facing the wall instead of him, but I closed my eyes just in case to pretend I was sleeping.

 

He sighed, and I felt bad as he crawled above me into his bunk. As I slowly tried drifting off to sleep, I could hear quiet whimpering and sniffling come from above my bunk- and knew instantly it was him. Tyler was crying, upset, and I wasn’t comforting him. I closed my eyes, guilt washing through me.

 

As the whimpers and sniffles quieted and the sound of soft snoring filled the room, I sighed to myself as I whispered one last thing before letting drowsiness take over.

 

“I’m sorry Tyler…”

  
  


~*~*~*~*~*~

  
  


The next few days went on as usual. Getting ready and rehearsing for our show, start the show, make it unforgettable, meet fans after show is over, go back to bus to relax, go out somewhere- like Taco Bell, then go back to the bus and relax and hang out some more before going to bed for the night.

 

Except the only difference, is that Tyler hasn’t been himself these past few days. He doesn’t seem as enthusiastic during rehearsal as usual, and he doesn’t seem as energetic when he’s on stage. 

 

When we’re meeting with fans, his smile looks forced as he signs autographs and takes pictures. And afterwards, when we go back to the bus, he just retreats to his bunk without talking to anyone on the way, and stays there instead of going out to eat. Which is worrying me to no end.

 

This isn’t the same happy, energetic, enthusiastic Tyler that I’ve  gotten to know over the past few years. This Tyler seems to have retreated into himself, and has little to no energy to do anything or be happy about anything.

 

I’ve decided to summon up my courage, and talk to him when the show was over.

 

_ I just want to see him smile again… _

  
  
  
  


After refusing, again, to go out to eat with everyone, I decided now would be a good time to approach him.

 

“Josh, you coming dude?” Mark asked as he walked out of the door of the bus. I smiled politely, shaking my head in response.

 

“I’m not really hungry so I think I’ll just stay here…” He shrugged before waving goodbye to Tyler and I, with Tyler barely raising his hand to wave in response as he sat with his knees pulled up to his chest on the couch, looking through his phone with a straight face, though his eyes seemed glossy.

 

_ Had he been crying again? _

 

As the door closed, leaving only Tyler and I, I sucked in a breath. Tyler peeked up at me through his phone.

 

“You’re not going out?” He asked in a small voice. I shook my head, forcing myself to smile a little as I went to sit beside him, his eyes following me.

 

“Thought I’d spend some quality time with my best friend.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes before smiling slightly, making my heart flutter.

 

“Right. Of course.”

 

I felt guilt course through my again at the thought of making him upset, but I knew I had to ask.

 

“Ty?”

 

“Hm?” He hummed in response, scrolling through his phone and tapping on a few things here and there.

 

“Is... everything okay?” He froze slightly.

 

“Er, yeah…” He said, sounding unsure before returning to whatever he was doing on his phone. “Why?”

 

“Well... you haven’t really been yourself the past few days and I was wondering if something was wrong.” I said, feeling nervous. He bit his lip, and stopped what he was doing before turning his phone off and setting it to the side, and turned to look at me. He forced a smile onto his face.

 

“What makes you think I haven’t been myself? I haven’t noticed anything different.”

 

“ _ I  _ have, Ty. You haven’t been your happy, energetic self for the past few days now.” I sighed quietly before moving a little closer to him. “I know my best friend... So could you please tell me what’s wrong?”

 

He was quiet for a few moments, and I thought he wasn’t going to answer.

 

“I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong.”

 

“You’re not fine. You’ve been crying, haven’t you?” I asked quietly. He tensed as I touched his hand, making me pull away quickly.

 

“No. Like I said, nothing’s wrong. Don’t worry.”

 

“Tyler-”

 

“ _ Josh _ .” He interrupted. “I’m  _ fine _ .”

 

“ _ No you’re not _ .” I said sternly, surprising him. “You’re  _ not  _ fine. Want to know how I know that? I heard you crying a few nights ago when you crawled into your bunk.”

 

His breath seemed to catch in his throat, and his eyes seemed to water slightly.

 

“You were  _ awake _ ?” He whispered, his voice cracking at the end. “I... I thought you were  _ sleeping _ , Josh, because you didn’t answer me when I called out to you.” 

 

“I’m sorry Ty,” I said sympathetically. “I didn’t mean to ignore you, it’s just... I couldn’t get myself to answer.” He laughed under his breath before letting his head fall into his arms.

 

“Right... okay…”

 

“Tyler... what’s wrong? What happened?”

 

It seemed to take him a few minutes to be able to answer me again, and when he did, shock surged through me entirely.

 

“S-she broke up with me... Jenna. Over the phone. Said that she felt things just weren’t working out between us, and thought it’d be best to break it off- be friends instead.”

 

I instantly pulled him into a tight hug, making him gasp in surprise as he seemed to choke on his words. After a few more seconds, he relaxed into me, wrapping his arms around me as he buried his head into the crook of my neck.

 

“I’m sorry, Ty... I’m so sorry…” He just seemed to cling onto me tighter with every passing second. I slowly started to rub his back soothingly to try to comfort him as I spoke in a hushed tone. “It’s okay to cry you know... that’s what I’m here for…”

 

That seemed to trigger something in him, and within seconds he started sobbing quietly as he started to shake violently.

 

“I l-loved her s-so much, Josh. Why would s-she do this? Why now?” He sobbed- effectively breaking my heart into a million pieces and making me feel like crying as well, because I hated to see him so upset.

  
  
  
  


I spoke up after a few minutes, letting Tyler cry as much as he needed to beforehand. “Well, she doesn’t know what she’s missing out on. You’re the best person I’ve ever met in my entire lifetime.” 

 

I heard him sniffle quietly before hearing a small chuckle escape his lips.

 

“This is why you’re my best friend.” I smiled, but something tugged at my heart at the same time.

 

_ Best friends... is that all we’d be? _

 

Blinking, I forced myself to smile a little and nod. “Exactly.”

 

“Thank you, Josh. For being here for me. I appreciate it.” I laughed a little.

 

“Isn’t that what friends are for?”

  
  


~*~*~*~*~*~

  
  


I was about to crawl into my bunk for the night, since it was a little after 10, when Tyler stopped me. We were still the only ones on the bus, with the others presumably at some club by now.

 

“Josh?” I turned around to look at him to find that he was shirtless with some sweats on as pajamas. I bit my lip as I tried not to blush just looking at him.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“There wouldn’t be anything that’s bothering you, would there?” 

 

“Why do you ask?” I said, slightly confused as to why he brought this up.

 

“I don’t know. I mean, you’ve gotta be blushing for  _ some  _ reason, right?” He asked, smirking a little as he crossed his arms. “Plus, I just want to make sure there aren’t any secrets between us. We’re best friends right? We should be able to trust each other.”

 

My mouth fell open slightly at the mention of me blushing, but I shook it off before answering. “Yeah... right…”

 

“So?” He prompted. “Anything?”

 

“No.” I said quickly. A little too quickly. He looked at me curiously.

 

“You sure, Josh?”

 

I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “Okay,  _ maybe  _ there’s something I haven’t gotten around to telling you…”

 

He raised an eyebrow, waiting. 

 

“Ever since I’ve known you Ty... I’ve... kinda... had a thing for you. I guess you could call it a crush?” His eyes widened as his mouth opened in surprise.

 

“You’ve... had a crush on me... since we met  _ five years ago _ ?”

 

“Yes,” I whispered, looking down at the floor which suddenly looked more interesting. “Tyler, I’m pretty sure I’m  _ in love  _ with you.” 

 

He didn’t answer right away, which gave me a chance to continue.

 

“You have the most interesting personality of anyone I’ve ever met. We understand each other better than anyone, and I love that I can talk to you about anything no matter what it is. Anytime you laugh I just feel like kissing you because it’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever heard. Your smile is  _ amazing _ , and I would kill to see it any second of the day, and I’d try to make you smile any chance I would get.” I knew I was rambling at this point, but I couldn’t get myself to stop. “Your eyes are the most beautiful shade of brown, and I can’t help but stare as the sun reflects off them and make them seem like a golden hazel. And your  _ voice _ ... your voice is the most perfect thing I have  _ ever  _ heard. I absolutely just love listening to you sing and having your voice ring in my ears, I could listen to you all day and not get sick of it. I-just... I love you, Tyler... You mean so much to me…” My face was burning by now at the fact I said every single thing I’d been holding in for years.

 

I looked up and wasn’t surprised to still see shock on his face, along with a hint of a blush.

 

“....Do you really mean all that stuff you just said, Josh?”

 

“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t mean it, baby boy.” I said quietly, my face still hot when I realized that I slipped and called him by his old nickname. His blush grew as he licked his lips, his voice soft.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?”

 

“You were... I mean, you seemed happy with Jenna, and I didn’t want to upset you or ruin anything by telling you. We’ve been friends for years, I figured you might not feel the same way as I did if you had a girlfriend…”

 

He laughed quietly. “You could’ve told me before I got with her, y’know.”

 

“Would it have made a difference?” I asked somewhat sullenly. “You didn’t seem like the type of person who’d... who was, er... into guys.”

 

He pulled me close to him so that his face was a few inches away from mine, and I could feel my breath hitch in response. He smiled, making my heart flutter again.

 

“Have you heard of bisexuality? I like  _ both  _ guys and girls Josh.”

 

“And you never thought to tell me?” I asked incredulously, making him laugh.

 

“Guess I figured you already knew. So, yeah, I guess it would’ve made a difference if you’d have told me earlier that you liked me.”

 

“How would it have made a difference?  _ I’m  _ the one that likes  _ you.  _ Not the other way around.” He snorted before rolling his eyes.

 

“And how would you know that?”

 

I opened and closed my mouth a couple times, not sure what to say. “Well…”

 

He just grinned as he leaned against the bunk bed, pulling me with him. His lips were mere inches away from mine, and I licked my lips anxiously.

 

“Ty…”

 

He pulled me closer to we were practically nose to nose. I closed my eyes, a shaky breath escaping my lips. “Tyler, please,” I breathed. 

 

“Kiss me.” He said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. “Please.”

 

I nodded vaguely before pressing my lips to his, which had my heart beating about a million miles an hour as a warm sensation spread through me.

 

I wanted- no,  _ needed  _ more. I never knew I needed something like this so badly from someone, especially Tyler. 

 

I pulled away for a couple seconds before pressing my lips to his again feverishly, succeeding in deepening the kiss- making him gasp softly against my mouth. I carefully ran my fingertips down his chest, stopping just above his hips, making him shudder against me as his hand moved to caress along my jawline. I held back a moan as our kissing turned into full blown just making out. I could feel as he thread his fingers through my hair.

 

Neither of us wanted to pull away, which left the both of us panting heavily. After a few more seconds, I removed my lips from his and immediately went to his neck. At first I left gentle kisses, going along his collarbone, up his neck and to his jaw- and I could feel as he shook, still breathing heavy as he gripped onto my shoulders. I returned to a tender spot on his neck, licking and making him gasp again.

 

“ _ Josh _ ,” He said breathlessly, which quickly turned into a small moan as I nipped at the spot on his neck before softly biting down.

 

“ _ Fuck,  _ Josh,” He whined, gripping at my hair tightly which made a small noise escape my throat before I smiled slightly at being able to make him practically melt at my touch. He lifted my head up carefully, and I got a good glance at his flushed face, half lidded eyes and swollen lips before he returned to kissing me again.

 

“I need you, Josh... please…” He whined quietly against my mouth. I opened my eyes slightly, suddenly feeling anxious

 

“Tyler-”

 

“Josh please,” He interrupted. “I promise you won’t hurt me.  _ Please _ ...” His voice was below a whisper at the end, his voice desperate enough to make me change my mind. I nodded vaguely before I took my shirt off, letting Tyler pull me down on top of him in the bunk, pressing a light kiss to his lips, letting it linger as I listened to his breathing.

 

“You’ll tell me if I hurt you?” I whispered. He nodded quickly, pulling me down again and brushing his mouth against mine.

 

“I’ll be okay. I promise. Now hurry up.” I laughed under my breath at his impatience before kissing him slowly.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

  
  


When I woke up the next morning, I found that there was someone cuddling up against me, facing me. I took the time that I could to take in every detail of his face.

 

_ He’s so adorable when he’s sleeping _

 

_ Absolutely perfect in every way… _

 

A few more minutes passed before he started to stir, groaning a little before opening his eyes. He grinned, blushing a little when he noticed me next to him.

 

“Hey.” He said in a small voice. I chuckled, pressing my lips against his forehead.

 

“Hey there, baby boy.” I gently ran my fingers through his already messy hair. “You feeling okay?” He nodded as he nuzzled into me.

 

“Best I’ve felt in a while, if I’m being honest.”

 

“Are you happy? Y’know, with... with this?” I asked nervously. He laughed slightly before he shifted, straddling me.

 

“Of course I am, Jishwa. We’re best friends.” I frowned slightly, but before I could answer he brushed his lips against mine. “I would also like to think we’re something more, like... boyfriends, maybe?”

 

A smile spread across my face as I laughed happily.

 

“I would love to call you my boyfriend, Tyler Joseph.” I watched as he smiled before I pulled him in for a soft kiss.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“So?” Brendon pressed, his elbows on his knees as he waited for an answer. “You two together yet?”

 

I blushed slightly as Tyler answered, his hand warm in mine as he smiled.

 

“As of yesterday morning, yes. Yes we are.” At this, Brendon’s smile widened as he stood up from the couch in Tyler and I’s dressing room.

 

“Well  _ finally _ . I’ve been waiting a long time for this, you know. I knew you two would end up together- I could see it.” He walked up to us, resting his hand on my shoulder. “You two are perfect for each other.”

 

And as he left the dressing room, he leaned in to say one last thing.

  
“ _Told you you’d never know until you tried._ ”


End file.
